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A
team effort
Grooms
roll up sleeves, handle fair share of planning
By
Wayne Brekke and Chris Christen
There
was a time when a man’s job was to woo the girl,
buy the ring, propose marriage, survive the bachelor
party and make it to the church on time. The groom was
more than happy to leave the wedding arrangements up
to the bride and her wedding-frenzied friends and relatives.
Besides, picking out flowers, invitations and china
simply got in the way of watching football and playing
golf. Not any more.
An
evolution is under way. Grooms are becoming more involved
in the wedding and reception planning process and brides
couldn’t more be delighted.
Tracey
Fricke, owner of Special Occasion by Design in Omaha,
confirms the trend, adding that it’s helpful to
have both parties immersed in the planning.
“It’s
nice because you have well-rounded opinions and involvement
from both of them, adding that special touch for their
big day,” she said. “When I meet with couples
. . . we always summarize with ‘These are the things
he’ll work on and these are the things she’s
working on.’”
Many
couples plan together out of necessity. Busy schedules
make it impossible for one person to coordinate all
the arrangements. Another factor: More couples are paying
for part or all of their wedding.
Richard
Marunda and his bride, the former Heather Treat, hit
the ground running as soon as they decided to get married.
“Richard has been there every step of the way,”
Treat said. The couple, who were married Dec. 1, 2007,
in Omaha, shopped for centerpieces, found bridesmaid
dresses on clearance at Sears and purchased a backup
wedding dress for $7 at Marshall’s. (In the end,
the bride wore a gown from Sposa.)
“I
realized early on that I needed to take an active role
because I wasn’t just planning for a wedding,”
Marunda said. “I was planning for our marriage,”
a point emphasized by the couple’s pastor during
premarriage counseling. “Heather and I have very
different work schedules,” said Marunda. “It
was unrealistic for me to place all wedding planning
and coordination duties on her.”
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Treat, a nurse, works odd shifts. “While she was
resting, I took it upon myself to go scouting for party
favors, centerpieces, family gifts, the unity candle
holder,” the groom said. “I wasn’t doing
it for myself. I was doing it for her, so she wouldn’t
have to worry about it.”
The
couple, who dated long-distance for most of four years,
said they knew each other’s tastes and trusted
each other’s decisions when it came to purchases.
“I
am the luckiest bride to have such a wonderful man,”
Treat said.
Rachel
Ogden can relate. “My fiance has been extremely
involved in all of the planning for our wedding,”
said Ogden, who will marry Joe Pfeifer in Omaha on Aug.
23, 2008. “Joe has helped with everything, with
the exception of picking out the wedding dress, which
I had to insist he not help with,” she said.
Pfeifer
was a partner in looking at churches and reception halls,
and interviewing photographers. He even helped pick
out the bridesmaids’ dresses. And put himself in
charge of wedding day transportation and honeymoon arrangements.
“I
anticipate he’ll remain very involved,” Ogden
said.
Robert
Blum designed the invitation and program for his Aug.
18, 2007, wedding to Crystal Harmon. “Robert wanted
the invitation to be unique to our style and personality,”
the bride said.
At
her request, Blum created a large painting for guests
to sign at their reception. Filled with good wishes
for the couple, the painting hangs in their home.
Mike
Kronschnabel found a lasting plus in helping his bride.
“I think it was good for our relationship. Our
decision-making styles are very different . . . Although
we had some differences of opinion, there were no arguments.
Planning the wedding really set the stage for how we
approach all of our planning as a couple.”
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Richard
Marunda and Heather Treat.
He’s a Navy officer stationed at Offutt Air Force
Base with the U.S. Strategic Command. She’s a nurse
who works odd hours.
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